How to become a Taoist priest starting from a brothel

Consort Zhang spat out a mouthful of black blood. Seeing the panic on Consort Wen and Duan'an's faces, she smiled, tugged at their sleeves, and coughed a few times.

"When I first entered the palace, I was only eleven years old. The late Empress felt sorry for me because of my young age and treated me like a younger sister. Unfortunately, I was not good enough and was in poor health, so I was unable to avenge her. Now, I have finally achieved my wish..."

Her breathing was weak, as if she was only exhaling and not inhaling, and the blood at the corner of her mouth could no longer be stopped, gushing out in waves.

Consort Wen, with tears in her eyes, helplessly covered her mouth, but she couldn't stop the blood from flowing from between her fingers.

"Sister Lan, please don't go! If you leave, I'll be the only one left among the three of us!" Consort Wen was already sobbing uncontrollably.

Consort Zhang tried to raise her hand, but failed. She opened and closed her mouth again, but ultimately couldn't utter a single word. Her hands slid off Duan'an's body, and her head drooped heavily...

"Lan, my sister!!" Consort Wen hugged her and cried out in grief.

Duan'an was at a loss for a moment. She looked sadly at the woman who had secretly taken care of her when she was a child, who died in her arms.

Looking at Consort Wen again, she took a deep breath before saying, "Aunt Wen, Aunt Zhang had already ingested a highly poisonous substance, which was why she was able to stand up and move around. Now that she has achieved her wish, let her rest in peace."

Consort Wen sat on the ground with a face full of despair, holding Consort Zhang tightly in her arms until the eunuchs came and wanted to take Consort Zhang away for burial.

She finally came to her senses, watching the face recede into the distance. Her expression became frantic as she shouted, "No! Lan Meizi! Lan Meizi!"

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty! Let the noble lady depart in peace!" The maid who had been serving her hugged her waist and stopped her.

Consort Wen seemed to have lost her mind and refused to leave.

Duan'an had already arranged the general matters before quickly approaching the crowd. He glanced at Consort Wen and gave a wink to the eunuch beside him.

The eunuch nodded knowingly and knocked the other person unconscious with one hand.

Seeing that the servants had sent Consort Wen to the inner palace, Duan An breathed a sigh of relief before leading her men to continue cleaning up the scene.

The major residences in the capital had already been surrounded by the army brought by Duan'an.

Hearing the bells ringing from the palace, their faces all turned grim.

“Master…” The lady looked at her husband with a worried expression.

"Shut up!" The man glanced at his wife, then listened intently to the tolling of the bells coming from the palace. "Three times... The Emperor has passed away!?"

This time, the woman didn't dare say anything, only looking at her husband with worry.

Before long, the sound of bells rang out from temples all over the capital, officially announcing to the world that the emperor had passed away.

"Who will ascend the throne?" This is a question that every head of household in the capital is considering.

Contrary to their expectations, they were not immediately released from their residences to go to the palace to mourn; instead, they remained tightly surrounded by the army.

"These troops are from the frontier. Which prince does His Highness Duan'an intend to support?" Some astute individuals had already made their own guesses.

"The four princes are all adults, we can't possibly support them, can we? I haven't heard of any new princes being born in the palace..."

Speculation lingered in everyone's mind, and as time went on, everyone became increasingly tense.

This tense atmosphere lasted for about seven or eight days before they were released from the mansion, and the army withdrew one after another.

The ministers did not dare to delay, and they all changed into mourning clothes and went to the palace with their wives to mourn.

Unfortunately, what they thought was a palace decorated by a prince turned out to be a sixteen or seventeen-year-old girl.

Upon closer inspection, the woman was dressed in a ceremonial robe and stood at the very front, with imperial concubines and guards standing behind her.

The ministers looked at each other, none of them daring to speak for a moment.

As soon as Prime Minister Li stepped forward two steps, he suddenly knelt down and respectfully said, "Your subject pays respects to Your Majesty."

His actions surprised everyone.

Before the officials could say anything, Duan'an looked at Prime Minister Li and said with a smile, "As expected of Prime Minister Li, you really know how to adapt to the times."

Prime Minister Li kept his head down and did not reply.

The Minister of Revenue glanced at Prime Minister Li and then at Duan'an before saying with a grim expression, "Sir, are you plotting a rebellion?"

Duan'an glanced at him before smiling and saying, "Minister Zhang, yes, you haven't met me before. My title is Duan'an."

"Princess Duan'an!" Minister Zhang's expression turned somewhat grim.

"Princess Duan'an?!"

"She is Her Highness!?"

The ministers all looked at her with extremely grim expressions.

Duan An's smile grew even more gentle. She looked at the assembled ministers and asked curiously, "What? Who do you gentlemen think is here?"

Minister Zhang looked at Duan'an and asked in a cold voice, "So, Your Highness, are you rebelling?"

Duan An flicked his sleeves, smiled at him, and said, "What do you think?"

Minister Zhang's face grew increasingly grim as he looked at the crown she wore, a garment reserved only for emperors: "Your Highness, as a woman, you should be a role model for all women in the world. How could you do something so contrary to propriety!"

Duan An's smile vanished abruptly. She looked coldly at Minister Zhang, then at the crowd, and said directly, "What? Does anyone else have a problem with this?"

The crowd looked at each other, then around, and for a moment no one stepped forward except for Minister Zhang.

Minister Zhang's face was extremely ugly. He turned to the crowd and angrily rebuked them: "You are all people who have studied the classics and are paid by the emperor. How can you allow a hen to crow at dawn!"

Prime Minister Li gave him a grim look before speaking, "The new emperor is a wise and capable ruler, whose literary and military achievements are comparable to the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors. How can he be abandoned and disobeyed simply because of a woman's status?"

Minister Zhang gave him a disapproving look before turning to Duan'an and bowing, saying, "Your Highness is indeed a man of great talent, but the order of Yin and Yang in the world must not be confused. Your Highness is perfectly capable of ruling the court, and we will certainly serve Your Highness as our master."

Duan An looked at him and coldly replied, "What if I am unwilling?"

Minister Zhang knelt on the ground and kowtowed, replying, "Then I am willing to offer my blood to Xuanyuan."

After saying that, he was about to crash into the pillar next to him.

The ministers exclaimed in surprise. Some rushed forward to stop him, some ran to the pillars to block him, and some grabbed him around the waist. In an instant, chaos ensued.

After a long time, Minister Zhang was stopped, and everyone knelt on the ground to plead for him.

Duan'an looked at him for a long time before saying, "I know you are loyal, but apart from being a woman, is there any other reason that would disqualify you from ascending the throne?"

Minister Zhang looked at Duan An, slowly shook his head, and replied, "No, Your Highness's talent is comparable to that of Yao and Shun."

"So? Just because I'm a woman, I'm supposed to be trampled on by a fool? If I asked you to resign and let your useless brother become the Minister, would you be willing?" Duan'an's face showed a hint of mockery.

Minister Zhang looked somewhat displeased, but he said nothing, only kneeling on the spot and kowtowing deeply.

Duan An slowly exhaled before saying, "You are simply worried that my son has the blood of another, which will cause the Cui family to lose power. But don't men also marry women with other surnames? I can also marry men and have children who will take the surname of my Cui family. What difference is there?"

Upon hearing this, Minister Zhang opened his mouth, wanting to refute it, but for a moment he didn't know how to refute it. His only reason was that since ancient times, only men have been rulers.

But he knew that this would be of no use to Duan'an.

Seeing that he stopped speaking, Duan'an looked at the others.

After exchanging bewildered glances, the others knelt before the main hall and cheered "Long live the Emperor!"